


Anti-Chrono

by Natsumiya_Teirin



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Crack and Angst, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:01:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27033106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natsumiya_Teirin/pseuds/Natsumiya_Teirin
Summary: "Hey God...is it possible for a person like me...to get a second chance?"On a whim, Russell wished he could go back and take care of himself, without thinking or worrying about the consequences of such a thing.The wish-granters of Dreamsend granted his wish...a bit too literally.
Relationships: Russell Seager & Everyone
Kudos: 13





	1. Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight

Something around the boy shatters. His body? His mind? The entirety of "Russell Seager"? He doesn't know anymore, if he ever did. 

He doesn't know anything besides the memories of his sins and the void of all-consuming regret. 

Was he "Russell Seager"? Did "Russell Seager" ever really exist? Or was "Russell Seager" just a persona, crafted by the selfish people who took pleasure in tarnishing their souls? 

Did anyone ever really exist? They must've, or else the boy wouldn't feel such a vast emptiness in his being. 

The emptiness of regret- of missed opportunities and wasted chances and apologies formed on dead lips.

The emptiness of regret that threatens to consume him.

Aah...it feels as if he'd been here for....too long. 

He speaks without lips, without a tongue, without a body, and gives voice to his regret.

"God...if I could have one more chance...if I could raise myself better than I did...would things be any different?" 

And God hears his regret- hears his desire for a second chance.

And She answers. 


	2. I Wish I May, I Wish I Might

There is pain, and then there isn't. 

There is cold, and then there isn't.

There is warmth, and there is light. 

He recognizes this room, the washing machine and the dryer pushed against the far wall, his meager belongings hidden away in a permanently shadowed corner of the room. 

And he recognizes the child, barely four years old- just old enough to start retaining long term memories- staring at him with a look of hope and wonder. 

Ah, that's right. 

This child would've already gone through four years of hardship- would've already learned to survive, but wouldn't yet have learned to give up hope. 

And if Russell has anything to say about it, he never will. 

He remembers now, being young and small and just shy of helpless. Back then, he would've taken whatever chance he could to get out, no matter how strange- because anything would've been better than the life he'd been forced into. 

So Russell kneels down in front of his younger self and extends a hand in offering. 

"Would you like to come home with me?"


	3. Wishsenders

Far, far, _far_ above the realm of human comprehension, there is a simple office building hidden away in glowing lilac clouds. 

In here, wishes are received, screened, processed, and then sent to God so She can either grant them or veto them. 

There are four minor deities in charge of processing, each of different origins and patron guardians of different fields. 

Fairia Adelista, a former tree spirit, guardian of love, harvest, and motherhood.

Raymond Costa, formerly a bird, guardian of joy, children, and bravery.

Walter Bartley, a human scientist, guardian of knowledge, battle, and strategy.

Yue, a dragon, guardian of innocence, humility, and dreams. 

In a meeting room, atop the circular table which they surround, a simple scroll sits innocuously, unfurled for all to see. 

Fairia hums.

"Should we really grant this one?" She asks.

"Why not?" Raymond says. "It could be interesting."

"But you _know_ what She said about time travel!" Walter admonishes. 

Yue says nothing. 

Raymond shrugs. 

"So then we don't send him through time. The kid's already dead, kinda- no body, but enough of a mind to not be able to pass on anywhere." 

Fairia narrows her eyes. "What are you getting at..?"

Raymond reclines in his chair, an easy smile on his face. 

"We move what's left of the kid to a new timeline, parallel to his own. We can ask Her to throw in an empty body, stick the kid's mind and soul into it, add in whatever else humans need to live, and then toss him to that new timeline. No paradox, no mess. Easy." 

There is a mild silence as the other three deities consider his words. Yue is the first to speak.

"That...is a surprisingly good idea, Raymond. Perhaps we should..."

After another beat or two of silence, Fairia nods in agreement. They turn to look at Walter, who frowns. 

".....I'm still unsure of this proposal...but I suppose the results could prove beneficial." He says with a sigh. 

"Then it's settled," Fairia says, already scrawling something down on a piece of scrap paper. With a snap of her fingers, both it and the scroll disappear. 

God is a redeemer, a giver of second chances.

This wish will surely be granted.


	4. Moving House

In his head, Russell dubs himself as Informant, mostly for lack of a better name- because Informant was the only...person? Humanoid being that looked like him, and he was kind of taking his role now, and it wouldn't be as weird as if he gave Russell his own name, and it was easier to keep track this way. 

Naturally, he doesn't say any of this. 

He just holds his small, familiar hand- not tightly, not even restraining, just firm enough to be _felt_ and loose enough for Russell to pull away if he wanted. 

They exit into the living room. Informant sees the bleeding corpses of his parents, wonders how and when that happened since Russell's clothes have yet to be altered let alone cleaned. 

He carefully shields Russell from the carnage and leads him out of the house.

From there, his body moves on its own, sure of where to go even though Informant himself is very much _not._

Trusting his legs, he talks to fill the awkward silence, figuring he should've done it a bit earlier and now's as good a time as any.

"My name is...Mikkoku." It meant the same thing anyway. "And your name is Russell, right?" 

Russell nods.

"How..?" He asks softly. Informant- Mikkoku- hums.

"I knew your grandma," he settles on, "and she told me about you. She told me she was worried about you, and asked me to check up on you." 

The lie falls easily from his lips, and he makes a mental note to write to her, assuming she hasn't died by this point- assuming his existence here didn't somehow alter that part of this timeline. 

Russell nods, apparently accepting it, as Mikkoku's legs lead them to a part of town he distantly recognizes as being near Gardenia's house. 

He comes to a jerky halt at the front door of a nice two-story house and reaches into his pockets for a key he could swear wasn't there before. 

He unlocks the bright red front door and gently leads Russell inside. 


	5. A Certain New-House Smell

This house is not as extravagant as the Reitman house, but it's better than where Mikkoku remembers staying.

And they only just crossed the threshold, too.

Across from the doorway is a set of light wooden stairs leading to a second floor, and to the left of that is an arched doorway leading into the rest of the ground floor. Against the wall is a decent sized cubby for their shoes, and Mikkoku can already tell someone's been here. Multiple someones. 

There is a pair of white heels, a pair of black dress shoes, a pair of brown boots, and a smaller pair of traditional sandals. 

There are also two pairs of white house slippers- with odd bunny ears and red eyes beaded onto them- in the center two cubbyholes, one of them clearly meant for a child. 

He wishes he had a weapon of some sort, but upon realizing there is no sudden knife or broken bottle in his pockets, he decides it's for the best he doesn't. It wouldn't do for Russell to see him covered in blood, let alone spilling it. 

So he shrugs his shoulders and helps Russell swap out his tattered shoes for the soft bunny-slippers before sliding his feet into his own larger- but otherwise identical- pair of slippers. 

And then he leads him into the living room.


	6. The Four Horsemen Of Redemption

There are four very familiar people in the living room. 

Fairia waves at them from a deep red armchair. Raymond smiles and Walter nods. The two of them are seated on the navy blue loveseat. Yue is perched at the center of the forest green sofa, her face blank as always. 

Mikkoku tilts his head. From his peripheral, he sees Russell mimic him. 

"Why are you here?" He asks. 

Fairia smiles, her visible eye twinkling. 

"We're not actually here- not in person, anyway," Raymond says, cutting her off before she can ecen speak. 

"We're....avatars, I suppose you could say," Walter goes on to explain. "Like we were in your Happy Dream," Raymond chimes in. 

"Dreamsend was a sort of cover-up," Fairia says offhandedly, "but that doesn't matter. We're here as caretakers, in a way. It's not terribly legal for a fourteen year old to live on his own, let alone look after a child, right?" She finishes, cocking her head. 

From the sofa, Yue pipes up. 

"Basically, we're only here for superficial purposes, so you don't end up in an orphanage or something." 

And Mikkoku isn't quite sure how to respond to that. 

"Ah....thanks..." he settles on. 

Fairia's smile widens as Walter and Raymond stand up. 

"Anywayyy, we just wanted to let you know that we'll be popping in every now and then to drive off the authorities!" 

Raymond grins conspiringly. 

"If anyone asks, you live in an alternative household and your parents are overseas, got it? Good!" 

"Byyyyeee!" Fairia waves again, and the four of them quite literally pop out of existence.

Mikkoku and Russell share a Look. 

Mikkoku smiles down at his toddler counterpart. 

"Would you like to help with lunch?"


End file.
